Inner Worlds

ART X Quote: Letting imagination transform what I see

Jun 29, 2025

“A Color Story” and “The Life of Chuck”

“…but the mind within the brain is infinite. Its storage capacity is colossal, its imaginative reach beyond our ability to comprehend. I think when a man or woman dies, a whole world falls to ruin—the world that person knew and believed in. Think of that, kiddo—billions of people on earth, and each one of those billions with a world inside. The earth their minds have conceived.” ~ Doug

King, S. (2025). The Life of Chuck. Simon and Schuster.

The mind is a strange, miraculous, magical, confusing thing. In my art I find myself considering memory, imagination, truth, falsehoods. I think about the things we collect to sustain those memories, the things we hide to forget. The stories we tell ourselves and those we share with others.

I think about the stories from which my art is born and those that they provide.

I plant rainbows all across my earthen mind. Let them grow tall and root out the shadows. Let them grow across the landscape and become the flowers that feed the bees and hummingbirds. Feed the goldfinch and butterflies. I think about these worlds I’ve built - both intentionally and unintentional.

This piece, “A Color Story” started as a sketch of two Oak trees across an Oregon landscape. (I talk a little more about this outing, pictured below, in my latest Collage O post.)

I brought the drawing back home without any grand plans for it. But, I’ve had that quote from “Doug” ping-ponging around my head lately. It helped me to trust my inner voices. To give them life and allow them to spill over onto a drawing of a world that could use more rainbows right now.

And now I think about Doug’s friend, Chuck, a character created by Stephen King (I admit I’ve been a huge fan of his ever since my then-boyfriend, now husband, convinced me to read The Stand) and soon to be played by Tom Hiddleston in the movie adaptation.

I’m not sure how they'll turn this curious little short story into a movie, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

~ Jennifer

p.s. I hope to offer more art and quote pairings in the future. I have a wide range of books on my reading list, so hopefully I’ll eventually share a few quotes in your favorite genre!